Nahum 3
English Standard Version
Woe to Nineveh
3 Woe to (A)the bloody city,
all full of lies and plunder—
(B)no end to the prey!
2 The crack of the whip, and (C)rumble of the wheel,
(D)galloping horse and (E)bounding chariot!
3 Horsemen charging,
flashing sword and (F)glittering spear,
(G)hosts of slain,
heaps of corpses,
dead bodies without end—
they stumble over the bodies!
4 And all for the countless whorings of the (H)prostitute,
(I)graceful and of deadly charms,
who betrays nations with her whorings,
and peoples with her charms.
5 (J)Behold, I am against you,
declares the Lord of hosts,
and (K)will lift up your skirts over your face;
and I will make nations look at (L)your nakedness
and kingdoms at your shame.
6 I will throw filth at you
and (M)treat you with contempt
and make you (N)a spectacle.
7 And all who look at you (O)will shrink from you and say,
“Wasted is (P)Nineveh; (Q)who will grieve for her?”
(R)Where shall I seek comforters for you?
8 (S)Are you better than (T)Thebes[a]
that sat (U)by the Nile,
with water around her,
her rampart a sea,
and water her wall?
9 (V)Cush was her strength;
Egypt too, and that without limit;
(W)Put and the (X)Libyans were her[b] helpers.
10 (Y)Yet she became an exile;
she went into captivity;
(Z)her infants were dashed in pieces
at the head of every street;
for her honored men (AA)lots were cast,
(AB)and all her great men were bound in chains.
11 (AC)You also will be drunken;
you will go into hiding;
(AD)you will seek a refuge from the enemy.
12 All your fortresses are (AE)like fig trees
with first-ripe figs—
if shaken they fall
into the mouth of the eater.
13 Behold, your troops
(AF)are women in your midst.
The gates of your land
are wide open to your enemies;
fire has devoured your bars.
14 (AG)Draw water for the siege;
(AH)strengthen your forts;
go into the clay;
tread the mortar;
take hold of the brick mold!
15 There will the fire devour you;
the sword will cut you off.
It will (AI)devour you (AJ)like the locust.
Multiply yourselves (AK)like the locust;
multiply (AL)like the grasshopper!
16 You increased (AM)your merchants
more than the stars of the heavens.
(AN)The locust spreads its wings and flies away.
17 Your (AO)princes are (AP)like grasshoppers,
(AQ)your scribes[c] like clouds of locusts
settling on the fences
in a day of cold—
when the sun rises, they fly away;
no one knows where they are.
18 Your shepherds (AR)are asleep,
O king of Assyria;
(AS)your nobles slumber.
Your people (AT)are scattered on the mountains
with none to gather them.
19 There is no easing your hurt;
(AU)your wound is grievous.
All who hear the news about you
(AV)clap their hands over you.
For (AW)upon whom has not come
your unceasing evil?
Footnotes
- Nahum 3:8 Hebrew No-amon
- Nahum 3:9 Hebrew your
- Nahum 3:17 Or marshals
Nahum 3
International Standard Version
The Coming Judgment of Nineveh
3 Woe to this city, contaminated with shed blood,
all full of lies and robberies—
it is[a] never without victims!
2 The crack of whips
and the clamor of wheels!
The galloping horses
and the bounding chariots!
3 The cavalry attacks—
the flashing sword
and the glittering spear!
Many are the slain—
so many casualties!—
No end to bodies,
and the soldiers[b] trip over the corpses.
4 Innumerable are the harlotries of this well-favored whore,
this mistress of witchcraft,
who enslaves nations through her fornication
and families through her sorcery.
God’s Decree against Nineveh
5 “Look, I am against you,” declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
“so I will pull up your dress over your face.
I will show your nakedness to the nations,
and your disgrace to the kingdoms.
6 I will hurl abominable filth upon you,
making you look foolish,
and making an example of you.
7 It will be that everyone who looks at you will run away, saying,
‘Nineveh has been violently overthrown!
Who will mourn for her?
Where will I find anyone to comfort you?’”
Thebes: an Example of God’s Justice
8 “Are you any better than Thebes,[c]
which sits by the upper Nile, surrounded by water?
The sea was her defense,
the waters her wall of protection.[d]
9 Sudan[e] was her source of strength, along with Egypt—
there were no limits.
Put and the Libyans were her allies.
10 But she, too, was exiled—
she went into captivity!
Her young children were dashed to pieces
at every crossroad of their streets,
and her famous citizens were sold by lottery,
while all of her aristocrats were put in chains.
11 You will also become drunk.
You will disappear,
trying to hide from your enemies.
12 All your defenses are like fig trees with ripe early fruit—
when shaken, it falls right into the devourer’s mouth.
13 Look at your people—[f]
they are women!
Your borders stand wide open to your enemies,
while fire consumes the bars of your gates.”
The Futility of Avoiding God’s Judgment
14 “Draw water, because a siege is coming![g]
Strengthen your fortresses!
Make the clay good and strong!
Mix the mortar!
Go get your brick molds![h]
15 In that place fire will consume you,
the sword will cut you down,
consuming you as locusts do.
Multiply yourself like locusts,
increase like swarming grasshoppers.
16 You added to your inventory of businessmen—
they number more than the stars of heaven.
The creeping locust sheds its skin and flies away.
17 Your imperial guards are like the swarming grasshopper;
your marshals are like hordes of grasshoppers,
settling in the stone walls on a chilly day.
The sun rises, and they flee away;
no one knows where they went.
18 Hey king of Assyria! Your shepherds are asleep
and your nobles are lying down!
Your people lie scattered on the mountains,
and there is no one to gather them together.
19 There is no healing for your injury—
your wound is fatal.
Everyone who hears about you will applaud,
because who hasn’t escaped your endless evil?”
Footnotes
- Nahum 3:1 The Heb. lacks it is
- Nahum 3:3 Lit. They
- Nahum 3:8 Lit. than No-Amon; i.e. Thebes, capital of southern Egypt (cf. Jer 46.25)
- Nahum 3:8 The Heb. lacks of protection
- Nahum 3:9 Lit. Cush
- Nahum 3:13 I.e. Nineveh’s army
- Nahum 3:14 The Heb. lacks coming
- Nahum 3:14 I.e. this verse appears to be affirming the uselessness of constructing a defense against God’s coming judgment.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
